Can we trust addiction medication?

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 22:09:00 +0000

No one should be paying $30,000 to go to what amounts to three 12-step meetings a day; a true treatment center should be providing something medically significant. So says Dr. Mark Willenbring, one of the nation’s staunchest advocates for a lot more medical intervention and a lot less spiritual journeying in the rehab and recovery industry. Otherwise, it’s like “going to an oncology center and getting prescribed a macrobiotic diet instead of chemotherapy,” says Willenbring, who is the founder and CEO of ALLTYR, which provides drug and alcohol addiction treatment based on cutting-edge science and research.

Should methadone moms keep their babies?

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 22:21:00 +0000

Imagine losing your child because you are taking a legally prescribed medication as directed—a medication that the Institute of Medicine and the World Health Organization have named as the best treatment for your condition. Now envision that the judge in your family court case is so dismissive of the overwhelming data supporting your use of this treatment that he says, “I can make a paper airplane out of these papers and glide it across the courtroom,” and refuses to read them.

That’s exactly what happened to a young mother, identified pseudonymously as “Rebecca,” who wanted to stay on methadone and keep her baby, as reported in an excellent account on the Daily Beast. Even worse, she is not alone.

Salon.com > Methadone

Can we trust addiction medication?

Should methadone moms keep their babies?